Hu Football Assistant Moves On

Offensive line coach Terry Beauford accepts the head coaching job at Morehouse in Atlanta.

Terry Beauford, Hampton University's offensive line coach, said Friday night he has accepted the position of head football coach at Morehouse, an NCAA Division II college in Atlanta.

Beauford had no plans to be an assistant football coach forever. So, when he took a job as Hampton's offensive line coach in 2000, he was happy to hear HU coach Joe Taylor tell him it was an apprenticeship. The apprenticeship has provided much bigger opportunities.

"I think it's just my time right now," said Beauford, 36, who will begin his first head coaching job. "After five years at Hampton, Coach Taylor says he'd like to see us move on to better things. When our evaluations come up, he'll tell us if he thinks we're ready. I'm ready."

Morehouse went 4-6 last season in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Beauford said he plans to move to Atlanta with his wife, Yulonda Darden-Beauford, and daughter, Tierra Brianna, within the next two weeks.

Beauford, a native of Fort Pierce, Fla., and graduate of Florida A&M, was also HU's co-special-teams coordinator and strength coordinator. He helped lead HU to the top scoring offenses in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 2003 and 2004, and the best punt-return (15.8 yards) and kickoff-return (30.4 yards) averages in the conference in 2004. He had nine all-conference offensive linemen in his time at HU.

Beauford will take over a Morehouse program with at least one big name on its roster. John David Washington, who will be a senior running back next season, is the son of actor Denzel Washington. John David led Morehouse with 168 carries for 804 yards and eight touchdowns last season.

Beauford becomes the third HU assistant football coach to depart in the off-season. Charles Bankins, who was HU's running backs coach, accepted a job as an assistant special-teams coach with the NFL's St. Louis Rams. Defensive coordinator Karl Morgan, who was fired, has taken a job as defensive coordinator at Northern Alabama. *